Longs' Ballot Results Disputed

Saint Mary's College economics professor Andrew Williams is quoted in a Contra Costa Times story about an initiative to split the CEO and chairman roles at Longs Drug Stores Corp. More than one-third of the shareholders voted in favor of the unsuccessful proposal, which was initiated by anti-tobacco activists.

"It's pretty uncommon to have such a large vote to split CEO and chairman roles," said Williams.

"It's definitely the way the winds are blowing," said Williams, who is co-author of "The Rise of Fiduciary Capitalism: How Institutional Investors Can Make Corporate America More Democratic." "The feeling is the responsibility of the board is to monitor management, and when the chief managerâ€¦is also the chairman of the board, it presents the possibility of a conflict of interest."